Resist or be Annihilated!
by magical m
Summary: A JC epilogue to 'Human Error' There simply has to be a downside to having the only free market on Borg nanoprobes.


_"I appreciate your offer, but I am not interested."_

_"You know you should try socializing with the crew a little more. It might do you some good."_

Seven watched Chakotay walk down the corridor. His last comment struck a nerve. She wanted to socialize with the crew, oh how she wanted to…and with him. Continuing down the corridor, she pondered what would have happened if she had accepted his invitation. Could real life ever be anything like the simulation? She wanted to follow him but didn't have the courage. Instead she turned and headed for the holodeck.

Entering the holodeck, Seven commanded, "Computer run Seven of Nine file alpha 3 Chakotay simulation."

In a shimmer of light, her holographic Chakotay appeared, and Seven unleashed all of her confusion and pent up emotion by embracing, and violently kissing him. The hologram responded passionately, just as she programmed him.

Thinking about the real Chakotay in the mess hall, Seven became acutely aware of how unreal this Chakotay was. She had adeptly fashioned his body and personality, but she could not have his heart, his soul. A tear streamed down her face and she crumpled to her knees.

The holographic Chakotay reached down for her and said gently, "Hey... hey, what's..."

Seven looked up at her recreation of an intangible dream, and sobbed. The acute pain in her heart was soon over-powered by the pain in her forehead. She convulsed and collapsed on the floor.

On the bridge a startled Harry Kim called out, "Captain, there's a transwarp conduit opening to starboard. Sensors are reading a Borg signature. There's another at mark..."

"Red alert!" Janeway ordered.

"They're powering weapons!" Kim responded.

"Evasive maneuvers! Tuvok, fire at will!"

A small heavily armed scout ship fired on Voyager. The whole ship shook from the blast. Tuvok returned fire as Voyager spun away from the attacking vessel. The second vessel locked weapons on Voyager.

"We sustained a direct hit. Shields are holding at 62 percent," Tuvok reported. "The Borg vessel is at 78 percent."

The second vessel fired, Voyager shook again.

"Shields are down to thirty percent."

"Captain, the first vessel is hailing, transmitting audio only."

"Put it on."

Kim put through the message and the collective voice echoed through the Bridge, "Resistance is futile, you must be annihilated."

Chakotay raised an eyebrow. "That's not their usual greeting. Something must have precipitated this attack."

"Agreed," the Captain replied as the ship shook again.

"We took a direct hit to the nacelle power coupling. Shifting to back up."

This time a spread of torpedoes rocked Voyager.

"Shields are down to 18 percent."

"Captain, another trans-warp conduit is opening..."

Janeway's eyes widened. "I don't know about you, Commander, but I don't want to stick around and find out what."

Chakotay was next to the helm before Janeway had finished. "Tom, turn us around and head back into the subspace munitions range at maximum warp."

Janeway grimaced but nodded as Tom laid in the course. "Agreed. We have a better chance of out running them than out gunning them, and our recent survey of the range gives us the advantage."

"Hang on everybody!" Tom grabbed the console as he pushed Voyager into a roll over at full impulse to avoid Borg torpedoes, before jumping to warp in the rotated position.

Chakotay picked himself up returned and to Janeway's side for impromptu strategizing.

In preparation for the lethal obstacle course, the captain called, "Bridge to astrometrics..."

There was no response.

Kathryn paced with her hands on her hips. "Bridge to Seven of Nine..." There was still nothing, "computer locate Seven of Nine."

"Seven of Nine is on holodeck 2."

Janeway threw her hands in the air and cast a sideways glance at Chakotay, "Janeway to Seven of Nine..."

Kim interrupted, "Captain, her life signs are erratic. I'm beaming her to sickbay."

"Icheb, report to astrometrics," she ordered. "Commander, you have the Bridge. I'll be in astrometrics. I'm going to get to the bottom of what precipitated this attack."

As Janeway stormed off the Bridge, Tuvok fired two torpedo spreads at the on-coming cubes.

"Direct hit, one has sustained heavy damage."

Chakotay acknowledged, "Good job, Tuvok."

"They are pursuing," Tuvok reported.

Harry replied, "Confirmed, but according to my readings the second vessel cannot maintain warp for long."

"That leaves two to outmaneuver in the munitions range. Paris, as soon as we are down to one, you can pull us out of here.

"Aye, sir. Approaching the subspace munitions range and slowing to impulse."

"Entering munitions range."

"Give it a few second and drop out of warp...Now."

Working with Icheb in astrometrics, Kathryn said, "Janeway to the Bridge."

"Aye, Captain."

"According to Icheb, the Borg are on a kamikaze course. Their survival is secondary to our destruction." Janeway nodded in his direction, "go ahead Icheb."

"Voyager and the Borg are being targeted by the subspace warheads. I am feeding the coordinates for the next subspace shockwave to Paris's console."

Voyager shook again.

"Shields holding at 12 percent"

Paris rapidly worked his console. "Got it. Changing heading to 7, 13, mark 86, on intercept course with the subspace warhead."

Kim announced, "The Borg are following. There is no indication that they are reading the warheads on their own sensors."

"Keep them occupied." Chakotay hollered over to tactical.

Tuvok fired a volley at each vessel.

In astrometrics Icheb and Janeway repeated Seven's transporter technique and disarmed the warhead that was locked on Voyager.

Voyager rocked from the explosions of the two Borg vessels.

However, Tuvok still needed to report, "Both vessels have been destroyed."

Paris scanned his console, "The blast knocked impulse engines off line."

Chakotay's eyes flashed at the possible danger. "Do we have warp?"

"Yes."

"Then get us out of here, Paris. Maximum warp."

"Aye, sir." said Paris, as Voyager went to warp and headed out of the munitions range.

Chakotay turned to Harry, "Ensign, I want a detailed analysis of everything on sensors before the Borg appeared. I want to know why the Borg targeted us for annihilation. Is there a sensor grid, a subspace network, anything that we unknowingly tripped off in this area of space?"

"Tom, take us five light years out and hold position until we hear from the captain."

Captain Janeway marched from astrometrics to sickbay. As the doors opened, she ordered, "Report."

The Doctor responded, "When Seven arrived, she was in convulsions. Her Borg systems were malfunctioning. An overwhelming number of nanoprobes were being produced and dispersed throughout her cardiovascular system. They had been stimulated to re-program her Borg physiology."

"By who? Or what?"

"It was an autonomic reaction to an increase of sex hormones in Seven's endocrine system." The doctor guided the captain by the arm to the console that contained his entire analysis. Confident in Janeway's scientific background, he gestured to the results.

"Seven was in earlier this week and I ran a full diagnostic. According to that, her Borg components were functioning appropriately. But, those results indicated that, in response to strong emotions, Seven's cortical node was designed to shut down her entire cortical array. However, those results don't match my previous observations."

"Doctor, Seven's cortical node shut down and, I wasn't informed?"

"Seven pleaded with me to respect doctor patient confidentiality. Anyway, Captain, please let me explain... After I ran that diagnostic and informed Seven, I reviewed her history. We have all observed Seven experience strong emotions. First there was the trauma of being severed from the collective, then aboard Raven she remembered her parents' assimilation, and then the trauma of believing she was assaulted, and there was that Collective memory virus, not to mention..."

"Doctor!"

"Right. So, something had to have caused a change in the cortical node! I sifted through the data and found this." The doctor pointed to an enlargement of two nanoprobes on the console. "This is a typical nanoprobe from Seven's medical file, and this is the modified nanoprobe. This one was dramatically altered after prolonged exposure to a dramatic increase in sex hormones. The hormones set off an autonomic reaction in the nanoprobe. Its new objective is to completely suppress Seven's sexuality."

The captain rolled her eyes and rubbed her forehead.

The Doctor carried on. "The nanoprobes interacted with cortical node which in turn tried to regulate the hypothalamus to stop the production of hormones, and to inhibit neurotransmitters related to Seven's sexuality, but when Seven persisted in her... experiments... the feisty little gaffers went for a more hostile method and stimulated Seven's neural transmitter."

"Doctor! You are saying the Borg attacked to suppress Seven's sexuality?"

"It sounds absurd because you are thinking individualistically, Captain. The Borg are a collective with their own set of autonomous systems. Obviously, sexuality is repugnant to Borg perfection, but it is inherent in virtually every humanoid species they assimilate. The resurfacing of sexuality in the Borg poses a significant threat."

Guiding the captain by the arm to the bedside of his unconscious patient, the Doctor continued, "Fortunately I was able to suppress Seven's hormone levels. That stopped the rapid production of nanoprobes. I used the medical transporter to remove the modified ones. She must remain unconscious until her internal systems replenish her normal supply. To ensure that this 'malfunction' does not repeat itself, I had to operate on her hypothalamus, it is a reversible surgery, but for the time being it makes sexual arousal impossible. In time I hope to reprogram the nanoprobes so Seven can have a more human existence."

"Thank you, Doctor. Notify me when she awakens."

The captain left the sickbay and proceeded to the holodeck. When the holodeck doors opened she saw that the program was still running. A remarkable likeness of Chakotay stood before her.

Janeway quickly clipped, "Computer, locate Commander Chakotay."

"Commander Chakotay is on the Bridge."

"Computer, re-run last program, and insert a holographic representation of Seven of Nine."

Captain Janeway's mouth gaped open as she observed the former drone's sexual fantasies. Realizing she had seen far more than she needed to, Kathryn ordered, "Computer, end program."

Marching onto the bridge, Janeway ordered Chakotay into her ready room. When the doors shut behind them, she signaled him to the chair, "Have a seat."

Janeway sat behind her desk and held a PADD containing the doctor's medical report. She looked up at her first officer and tried to fathom the task before for her. Where to begin?

Leaning back in her chair, exasperated she blurted out, "Seven kissed a holographic image of you on the holodeck."

Perplexed, annoyed, and still pumped from the fight, Chakotay was caught of-guard. Why would she bring up something so foolish and irrelevant?

He responded, "Excuse me? Captain, even if that is so; it is hardly relevant right now! We came under heavy attack by the Borg. I've got the whole crew making repairs and searching for what instigated it, and you called me in here to talk about Seven choices of holodeck activities?"

"That is what caused the Borg attack," Janeway responded flatly.

"I beg your pardon?" the commander choked out.

"Seven has been sexually involved with a holographic image of you. Apparently that is the nature of the 'research' she's been doing this week. According to the doctor, her excited endocrine levels caused her Borg nanoprobes to reprogram themselves. They stimulated Seven's neural transmitter, and the Borg began receiving the transmissions, sometime earlier this week. According to Icheb, those small tactical vessels are an autonomic response to any malfunctioning Borg technologies that may pose a threat to the Collective."

"How does she pose a threat to the Borg?" Chakotay asked somewhat incredulously.

"Guess the Borg don't like sex." Kathryn replied flatly.

Chakotay couldn't stifle the laugh. "Guess not!" Returning to his line of questioning, "Is Seven okay?"

"She is recovering, but the Doctor will be keeping her on a series of hormonal suppressants until he can find a solution to this threat."

Leaning back in his chair Chakotay shook his head, looking a little lost in thought.

"What s it?"

"Sex in the delta quadrant... It can be down right treacherous. Women I've met out here, they either steal my DNA, use mind control, or memory alteration. Now you tell me that the Borg tried to destroy us because one woman just wanted to kiss me." Chakotay shook his head.

Kathryn shuddered at the recent memory of all that Seven wanted to do with Chakotay. Her eyes dropped to the floor.

Chakotay noticed her change in demeanor and appraised her carefully.

Sensing it was time to shift from first officer to lover, Chakotay rose from his chair and came around to where she was sitting. Leaning against Kathryn's desk, he caressed her cheek and lifted her chin until she met his gaze. "Kathryn, if she knew about us, she'd never have chosen me."

Kathryn let out a long unsteady breath. "I don't know, Chakotay..."

He shrugged. "Doubt her if you like, but don't doubt me. When I look at Seven, do you know what I see?"

"What?"

"Your handiwork, Kathryn, that's what I see. You've brought her a long way, but she is still light years from holding a candle to her teacher."

Chakotay pulled on her hands, coaxing her toward him. Kathryn rose from her chair and met his embrace. He kissed her passionately, and she let herself melt in his arms.

Relaxed and breathing easier, she tried to forget the holoimages.

"Whatever you saw, you know that could never be me."

Kathryn sighed, "I know, Chakotay, I know." Chuckling bravely she added, "But beneath that Borg exterior, Seven has a darn good imagination."

"Maybe, Kathryn, but that's all she's got. And speaking of sex in the delta quadrant, I can't think of anyone in a worse predicament than Seven, except maybe Harry."

Kathryn laughed heartily and broke their hold, "Thank you, Chakotay, that's just what I needed."

Accepting the unspoken signal, Chakotay bowed slightly and smiled, "If you need anything else Captain, I'll be on the bridge."

Kathryn's eyes danced as she watched her lover switch to his professional stance.

"Dismissed."

In sickbay as Seven regained consciousness. The Doctor compassionately explained her medical condition to her. Then he left to call the captain.

Seven sat up and recited to herself her toast from the holodeck baby shower.

_"May all her desires be fulfilled except for one, so that she will always have something to strive for."_

Silently, Seven contemplated her own words and accepted her own toast. Part of being human is knowing you can't always have what you want.


End file.
